“We are beginning to analyze this opportunity, and if we find that a possible transaction adds value for the shareholders, we will submit it to their consideration,” declared Marcos Ramirez, general manager of Banorte, during a press conference.
Last week, Citigroup announced it would sell its Citibanamex retail banking business, ending a two-decade presence in Mexico and prompting Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to call on domestic investors to grab the assets and “Mexicanize ” the bank.
Banorte previously said it expects to increase its net profit in 2022 by 17.3%, and posted higher net profit and revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier.
The group, which owns one of the biggest banks and one of the biggest pension funds in the country, said in a presentation accompanying the quarterly results that it was aiming for net profit of between 39.5 billion pesos and 41.1 billion pesos for 2022, compared to a total of 35 billion pesos last year.
Additionally, the company said it expects lending to grow 7-9% over the year.
For the fourth quarter of 2021, Banorte reported net profit of 9.1 billion pesos ($441.8 million), up nearly 52% from the same period a year earlier.
Revenues amounted to 26.6 billion pesos over the October-December period, up nearly 7% from the previous year.
($1 = 20.5075 pesos at the end of December)